USA Breaks 12 Year Drought in Return to Olympic Soccer
USMNT Begin New Era
USA will be bringing soccer to Paris in 2024, and it is all thanks to the Under-20 team that dominated a fierce rival Honduras in the CONCACAF U20 Championship. It hasn’t always looked this good for the USA youth squads. In fact the United States hasn’t made an appearance in Olympic Soccer for 12 years, failing to qualify on their last three attempts. In two of those failed attempts they lost to the country they beat last night - Honduras.
This win is was not just convincing, it was a win against an opponent that has had our number for the last decade. Now begins a new era for the United States Men’s teams. A talented and youthful squad (some of whom are Olympic eligible) will be tested in November at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The U20 squad will compete in next year’s U20 World Cup, and a mixed squad will travel to Paris for the 2024 Olympics.
Golden Generation or Just the Beginning?
If you thought the generation of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Tyler Adams was a golden one, do yourself a favor and pay attention to those only five years younger on the U20 squad. There doesn’t seem to be much wiggle room in the senior squad over the next few years, but a lot can change come 2026 when the eyes of the world will be watching the USMNT play a World Cup in their home country. As the U20 coach Mikey Varas stated after the game “The most important actors in this whole story were the players.”
Varas continued to praise the player’s fight throughout the tournament and match against Honduras:
The way they stepped up in front of this moment, in front of these fans I can’t be more proud of them. The message was to confront this moment with our heads up high, to be brave, to be relentless, and to be together in everything that we do.
Varas’ message seemed to get across well, as the US stepped on the gas in the first few minutes of the match as Paxton Aaronson scored the opener in the 3’ minute. The U20 squad didn’t look back and secured two more goals from Alejandro Alvarado and Quinn Sullivan in the first half to lead in Honduras 3-0 at halftime.
The US didn’t flinch in the second half and easily secured their spot in the final of the U20 CONCACAF Championship which included a birth to the 2024 Olympics. The USA and Dominican Republic became the first two nations that have qualified for the 2024 Olympics.
Speaking on the match, captain Daniel Edelman was elated stating:
I’m unbelievably proud it’s such an accomplishment for all of us. Honestly I’m lost for words right now. A huge achievement… for our group to do what we did on that field today it’s special and a moment that we’re all going to remember for the rest of our lives. Right away we knew we had to step on the gas and not let off. The noise (from the crowd) didn’t stop but everyone was so tuned in mentally to get the job done.
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Players from all backgrounds and club teams have joined to create an incredibly deep pool of future talent for the USMNT. One player that has had a winding road to get to where he is now is Caden Clark. The attacking midfielder stunned scouts with his ability early on in his New York Red Bull career. He was quickly signed to RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga and loaned back to the New York club. To everyone's surprise he hasn’t gotten much playing time under New York manager Gerhard Struber, so this tournament was especially important in getting Clark back to his best form.
Speaking on his experience in this match:
Unbelievable game from the guys. We rose to the occasion and we were all prepared for it. We all knew the game plan to stick together. I think when one guy is aggressive and brave the team will follow. It’s a really good environment, we are relentless, and we’re going to keep going to the final and win this tournament.
Those are confident words from the Red Bull product, but we could see on the pitch last night those aren’t just words. This U20 team is together on their mission, they are confident in their abilities, and seemingly ready to take on any challenge in the future. The future holds a final on Sunday night vs Dominican Republic for the CONCACAF U20 Champions, the U20 World Cup in 2023, and the 2024 Olympics where the roster rules allow U23 players and three “overage” players on the squad.
Credit to Marcus Chai - an author for Chasingacup.com for a very early look at what an olympic roster could look like without any overage players. Needless to say… the future is very, very bright!
You can watch all of the full post match interviews on the It’s Called Soccer YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ItsCalledSoccer